From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Dec 2026
6 matches without a win for Patro Eisden
The run now stands at 6, and the questions being asked around Patro Eisden are no longer polite ones.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Successful dribbles: 22. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Squad21 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patro Eisden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Jimmy Kaparos falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Match19 Dec 2026
Late, late show earns Patro Eisden a point
Minute 85, against Beerschot, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
Match21 Dec 2026
Position 17, 10 points, and every result so far reduced to one line. The second half of the season starts with the same squad and a different set of expectations.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jonathan Valdivia commits to Patro Eisden for another 2 years.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match19 Dec 2026
A 1‑1 draw with Beerschot leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Crisis
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Patro Eisden may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match12 Dec 2026
5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Radja Nainggolan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
Louis Fortin gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Match12 Dec 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings14 Dec 2026
Stef Peeters beats them one at a time
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad14 Dec 2026
Jarno Libert falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout14 Dec 2026
“I could talk about decisions and I could talk about luck. I will not. We lost.” The manager, 0‑1, and a press conference that lasted four minutes.
Squad14 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Jonathan Valdivia and Patro Eisden agree another 2 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match7 Dec 2026
Position 17, 9 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad7 Dec 2026
A one-man rearguard from Louis Fortin
There were 8 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Match5 Dec 2026
4 matches without a win for Patro Eisden
The run now stands at 4, and the questions being asked around Patro Eisden are no longer polite ones.
Squad7 Dec 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patro Eisden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Match5 Dec 2026
Waasland-Beveren left with the points after a 0‑1 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jimmy Kaparos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Dec 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad30 Nov 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match28 Nov 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad30 Nov 2026
50 goals in these colours now, every one of them somebody’s memory. There is a supporter in the stand who can tell you where he was for most of them.
Player ratings30 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 18. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad30 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raoul Kenne was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Jimmy Kaparos, and the manager let it.
Boardroom30 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 100% of the Patro Eisden income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Looking ahead30 Nov 2026
Waasland-Beveren next, and one man in the Patro Eisden dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad23 Nov 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match21 Nov 2026
1‑2 to Club NXT, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Arnaud Dony did the work nobody counts — 6.94
12 combined actions and 6.94. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
The terraces23 Nov 2026
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Raphaël Sarfo has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Player ratings23 Nov 2026
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Squad23 Nov 2026
Words at Patro Eisden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jarno Libert is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager makes an example of Kjetil Borry
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad16 Nov 2026
Radja Nainggolan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad16 Nov 2026
Words at Patro Eisden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jimmy Kaparos is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout16 Nov 2026
No hiding place for Amir Rais
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Amir Rais, and the manager let it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match9 Nov 2026
Position 15, 9 points, and a fixture list with fewer games left in it than excuses. The arithmetic is not cruel yet, but it has stopped being kind.
Squad9 Nov 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patro Eisden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings9 Nov 2026
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad9 Nov 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jimmy Kaparos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Lois Tielemans was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Patro Eisden dressing room was either.
Match7 Nov 2026
Point won or two lost for Patro Eisden?
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Seraing? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Japhet Muanza gets picked when it counts
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Japhet Muanza is on it.
The dugout9 Nov 2026
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Player ratings2 Nov 2026
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.33, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Match31 Oct 2026
It had gone 11 games. The players did not celebrate like men who had won a match; they celebrated like men who had been let out of something.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jordan Renson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match31 Oct 2026
A 3‑1 win over Jong Gent, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The terraces2 Nov 2026
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Boardroom2 Nov 2026
Wages swallow 100% of the Patro Eisden income
Every club pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time it has been tried.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Jarno Libert falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad2 Nov 2026
Stef Peeters makes the team of the month
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 3‑1, Lois Tielemans could afford to be generous.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match24 Oct 2026
11 matches without a win for Patro Eisden
The run now stands at 11, and the questions being asked around Patro Eisden are no longer polite ones.
Squad26 Oct 2026
A one-man rearguard from Louis Fortin
There were 6 saves in it, and at least three that had no business being saves at all. The ten outfield players owe him a drink and they know it.
The dugout26 Oct 2026
Nicolas Orye: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Patro Eisden have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Squad26 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patro Eisden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces26 Oct 2026
At 23 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad26 Oct 2026
Jimmy Kaparos falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Player ratings26 Oct 2026
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.06, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Match24 Oct 2026
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then RSCA Futures scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Match24 Oct 2026
It finished 1‑1, and it somehow always looked like it would. One of those afternoons where the table moves less than the tempers.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match17 Oct 2026
10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
At 34 every good afternoon gets called a throwback, and this one was: 7.90, and nobody on the pitch better.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Radja Nainggolan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match17 Oct 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Successful dribbles: 19. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raoul Kenne was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Patro Eisden, and both men came out saying it was fine.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout12 Oct 2026
“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.
Squad12 Oct 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patro Eisden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad12 Oct 2026
“The easiest signature of my career.” Raphaël Sarfo and Patro Eisden agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The dugout12 Oct 2026
Something was said to Louis Fortin and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Words at Patro Eisden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jarno Libert is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad12 Oct 2026
Patro Eisden are still strangers to each other
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match3 Oct 2026
9 matches without a win for Patro Eisden
The run now stands at 9, and the questions being asked around Patro Eisden are no longer polite ones.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Patro Eisden may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jimmy Kaparos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Boardroom5 Oct 2026
116% of the income goes out in wages at Patro Eisden
Every club in football pays most of what it earns to its players. Paying nearly all of it is a different arrangement, and it has ended the same way every time somebody has tried it.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad5 Oct 2026
The demotion a club never announces and a dressing room always notices. Ridwane M'barki is further from the side than he was, and the reason will not be given until he asks.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Lois Tielemans chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Raphaël Sarfo moves up the pecking order
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Patro Eisden than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Match26 Sep 2026
8 matches without a win for Patro Eisden
The run now stands at 8, and the questions being asked around Patro Eisden are no longer polite ones.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Junior Mbaku-Mbabit is 18, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Match26 Sep 2026
Lokeren-Temse left with the points after a 1‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
Louis Fortin gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad28 Sep 2026
Raoul Kenne falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Lois Tielemans after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Squad28 Sep 2026
The first one is the one every signing is asked about until it arrives. It has arrived, and he can stop being asked.
The dugout28 Sep 2026
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match19 Sep 2026
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Radja Nainggolan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match19 Sep 2026
3 matches without a goal for Patro Eisden
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Patro Eisden training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Raoul Kenne is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
Kjetil Borry gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Lois Tielemans was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Patro Eisden dressing room was either.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Match19 Sep 2026
Nil-nil, and few chances worth the name. Lommel came to defend and left with exactly what they came for.
Market21 Sep 2026
The list is a quiet document with a loud meaning. Raoul Kenne may talk to anybody who asks, and everybody at the club understands what that means.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad14 Sep 2026
Jordan Renson and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Jimmy Kaparos falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Patro Eisden are still strangers to each other
7 new signings in one window. Every one may be an upgrade and the side can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild the verdicts never mention.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
Patro Eisden take on the side everybody is chasing
Lommel arrive as leaders. A side at the top is beaten roughly once a month, and the club that does it gets a week it remembers for a year.
Looking ahead14 Sep 2026
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Ridwane M'barki’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Patro Eisden needing him to play as if none of it matters.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager makes Kjetil Borry a promise
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Patro Eisden. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market7 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Boardroom7 Sep 2026
Deadline passes with 13 signed and 4 gone
That is the business done at Patro Eisden until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Patro Eisden offered $1.8M; Willem II said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
No thanks: Hiiro Komori rejects the move
Patro Eisden had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at Urawa Reds, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Jordan Renson was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Transfer targets7 Sep 2026
Patro Eisden asked and Racing Genk said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Raoul Kenne was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout7 Sep 2026
The manager makes an example of Ilyas Lefrancq
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad7 Sep 2026
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Patro Eisden will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Match26 Aug 2026
KV Mechelen go through and Patro Eisden go home, 0‑0 the scoreline that did it. The dressing room will call the league the priority now, because that is what dressing rooms say.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Louis Fortin decides it from twelve yards
1 kept out in the shoot-out, and a stadium that will still be describing them in twenty years. A goalkeeper only needs one of these to be remembered forever.
Market31 Aug 2026
Raoul Kenne hands in a written request
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Patro Eisden can pretend not to have heard.
Match29 Aug 2026
6 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Cercle Brugge have kept their man, and Patro Eisden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Transfer targets31 Aug 2026
Beerschot wanted more than $520.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Squad31 Aug 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Match29 Aug 2026
0‑1 to Eupen, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
Squad31 Aug 2026
100 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market24 Aug 2026
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Standard Liege wanted more than $2.6M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. OH Leuven have kept their man, and Patro Eisden go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Match22 Aug 2026
No end in sight to Patro Eisden's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Patro Eisden has to find a result from somewhere.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
$480.0K on the table at Beerschot. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets24 Aug 2026
The offer went to Standard Liege this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Radja Nainggolan was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Match22 Aug 2026
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Squad24 Aug 2026
200 games in this shirt, through managers and relegations and everything else. Service like it is disappearing from the game and the crowd knows what it is watching.
In brief
-
Squad
Words at Patro Eisden training over how hard people work
-
The dugout
The manager makes an example of Jimmy Kaparos
-
The dugout
The manager’s verdict
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Market17 Aug 2026
$150.0K — a new record at Patro Eisden
No footballer has ever cost this club more, and the number will be read out every time he misplaces a pass for the next two years.
Market17 Aug 2026
$910.0K is a serious amount of money and it does not play centre-forward. Everybody in the dressing room knows who used to be looked at when it went wrong.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Supporters turn on the $910.0K sale of Kéres Masangu
He is going to Sint-Truiden, the club has $910.0K it did not have on Friday, and the phone-ins have already decided how they feel about that. Selling well and selling somebody they loved are not the same skill.
Squad17 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Patro Eisden this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The terraces17 Aug 2026
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Fuhna Wirsiy Nsolo from KV Kortrijk for $150.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Match15 Aug 2026
3 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Successful dribbles: 15. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Transfer targets17 Aug 2026
A loan move for Robin Mirisola is in the works
Patro Eisden have made the call to Racing Genk. No fee, a share of the wages, and a spare shirt in the position where the squad has been thinnest all season.
Squad17 Aug 2026
5 new faces, and Patro Eisden are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Market10 Aug 2026
The offer from Anderlecht for Kéres Masangu was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The clubs have shaken hands with KV Kortrijk; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
Transfer targets10 Aug 2026
The offer went to Standard Liege this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad10 Aug 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad10 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Jordan Renson commits to Patro Eisden for another 2 years.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Axel Castagne is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Market10 Aug 2026
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Adnan Tielemans has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market10 Aug 2026
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Nacer Hazard is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
Match8 Aug 2026
Beaten 0‑1, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad3 Aug 2026
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Radja Nainggolan commits to Patro Eisden for another 2 years.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Radja Nainggolan and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Denys Prychynenko falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Amir Rais gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
Squad3 Aug 2026
The formation has left Paulin Puel behind
Every shape has positions in it and this one does not have his. Patro Eisden will either change the shape, change his job, or change his club, and he is waiting to hear which.
Market3 Aug 2026
Still no offer on the table, and Ridwane M'barki’s deal keeps shrinking. In boardroom language, silence this long stops being an oversight and starts being an answer.
Player ratings3 Aug 2026
Marked 7.58. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Dender: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Francs Borains have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.